A breast prosthesis of the initially mentioned type is known, for example, from EP 0 320 590 B2. In this known breast prosthesis, an outer body has a hardness that matches the soft, elastic resilience of the natural breast tissue while an inner body or inner region has a firmer consistency such that it can adapt to the scar region.
The invention is based on the objective of developing a breast prosthesis of the initially mentioned type that has particularly favorable dimensional and deformation properties and can have a particularly lightweight structure.
This objective is attained with a breast prosthesis have the characteristics the present invention. Advantageous additional developments of the invention are also disclosed in this application.
In a breast prosthesis, in particular, of silicone with an inner shell-shaped region and an outer shell-shaped region which have different and novel properties, the invention provides a second region that is arranged within the outer region in the form of a profiled ring structure. The design in the form of such a profiled structure makes it possible to increase the mechanical stability of the prosthesis. Consequently, it is possible to utilize lighter materials. In addition, a particularly desirable effect with respect to the shape and the deformation of the prosthesis can be achieved with such a special profiling.
The profiled structure has the form of a ring structure, particularly a concentric ring structure. In this case, the rings preferably are concentrically arranged around the mamilla. In other preferred embodiments, a special rib or bead geometry is utilized which increases the stability of the breast prosthesis similar to a ribbing in lightweight building components.
In one preferred embodiment, the inner profiled region comprises at least two peripheral rings, and preferably three peripheral rings. These rings may also have the form of a bead-like fashion such that they can be pushed into one another like a bellows when pressure is exerted upon a point of the prosthesis. These rings are preferably interrupted and spaced apart from one another. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the interruption of the rings extends horizontally through the mamilla. It is also preferred to provide a vertically extending interruption of the rings, wherein this interruption extends, in particular, vertically through the mamilla and only interrupts the central and the inner ring. Additionally or alternatively to an interruption of the central ring, one or more interruptions are preferably provided in the lower half of the breast prosthesis, wherein these interruptions preferably are respectively aligned at an of angle of about 45°, with reference to the vertical line. Due to this measure, the prosthesis adapts itself to a brassiere cup similar to a natural breast. When pressure is exerted upon the point of the prosthesis, the concentric ribs or beads have a bellows-like compression of the prosthesis material. This enables the breast prosthesis to flatten when the wearer lies on her back. The breast prosthesis is also able to flatten during physical contact with another person.
According to another preferred additional development of the invention, nominal folding recesses are provided in the breast prosthesis. These recesses are preferably arranged between the beads and have an annular shape.
In another preferred additional development of the invention, the inner shell-shaped region consists of a lightweight silicone. The lightweight silicone is preferably produced by embedding very small hollow spheres in the silicone gel such that the resulting lightweight silicone has a much lower density than normal silicone gel. This results in a reduction of the total weight of the prosthesis. The design of the breast prosthesis according to the invention still provides a sufficient stability. The inner region preferably consists of a silicone that is particularly firm in comparison with conventional lightweight silicone prostheses. The firmness of the inner region is adjusted, in particular, such that it has a penetration value of approximately 180. The outer layer, in contrast, is preferably manufactured from normal silicone or normal silicone gel that preferably is relatively soft in comparison with conventional silicone materials used for this purpose and has a penetration value, in particular, of approximately 260. The outer region consequently is thus formed softer than the inner region.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer shell-shaped region has a form slightly thicker above the mamilla than below the mamilla. The ratio between the thickness of the outer region above the mamilla and the thickness below the mamilla preferably lies at approximately 1.5. According to another additional development of the invention, the breast prosthesis may have the form of a three-chamber prosthesis, wherein a third shell-shaped region preferably is arranged between the outer region and the inner region.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the breast prosthesis is provided with a recess in its lower region. An air cushion enclosed with the prosthesis can escape through this recess without developing any noise when pressure is exerted upon the prosthesis.
The invention is described in detail below with reference to one preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the figures. The schematic figures show: